Students learn about the process engineers use to bring new ideas to life. They are then given an engineering problem to solve: how can they drop a raw egg safely from the Museum's second floor balcony to the first floor without breaking? Students then get two attempts to design a structure to keep their egg safe during its drop—using only one sheet of paper and a rubber band!

As the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. is both a city of residents and a national symbol. During this program students investigate how some of Washington D.C.'s monuments and memorials are examples of symbolic architecture. Through this exploration, students learn about the history of D.C. then become architects as they design their own symbolic building for the National Mall. Prepare your student for this program with pre-visit lessons.

Students learn about green roofs: the practice of growing plants on a building's roof to absorb rain water and to make buildings more environmentally friendly. After looking at photographs of green roofs, students build a model house with craft materials and a roof using real dirt and grass seeds. Students will take home their houses to watch their green roofs grow.

In this hands-on investigation, students will learn how buildings can be built to withstand the force of an earthquake. They will experience the engineering design process by exploring the Museum's Designing for Disaster exhibition, then working in groups, students will design, construct, and test model buildings using a shake table. After analyzing how their structures performed, students will consider how they could improve their designs.

Students learn about the process engineers use to bring new ideas to life. They are then given an engineering problem to solve: how can they drop a raw egg safely from the Museum's second floor balcony to the first floor without breaking? Students then get two attempts to design a structure to keep their egg safe during its drop—using only one sheet of paper and a rubber band!

In the Museum's House & Home exhibition, students have an opportunity to look closely at photographs and models of past and present American homes. This exploration continues in one of the Museum's classrooms where students learn about the process of building a house through a hands-on demonstration with real tools and materials. These young builders then create their own houses out of color craft materials to take home.